How did the New Orleans Reconstruction Project come about?

Another UCLA law student and myself met each other in the first week of classes and bonded over the work we had been doing in the Gulf Coast prior to law school. We also bonded over our culture shock at being in a place like West Los Angeles where the cars were so shiny and undented, all of the houses aggressively maintained and stray dogs didn’t run in the street. Both of us had been tremendously enriched and challenged by our time in New Orleans, and both of us were clear that this was work that would continue to be important to us. We also felt like New Orleans was falling off the national radar and we knew firsthand the level of work that remained to be done there and the importance of national attention and support.

We discussed ways to leverage our positions of access and resources and law students, and with the financial assistance of our Dean and the Epstein Public Interest and Policy Program and the Critical Race Studies Program, we founded the New Orleans Reconstruction Project (NORP) within the law school. We were able to procure funding to bring 14 other law students down to New Orleans to do two weeks of volunteer legal and organizing work .

As NORP, we recruited a highly diverse group of students who were interested in the issues playing out in the Gulf Coast. We arranged free housing and then provided them with context on the city, including visits to key important places in the city such as the place in the Ninth Ward where the levee broke and the Backstreet Cultural Museum, which provided students with an understanding of the rich and distinct culture of the African American community in New Orleans. We then placed the students at six different community organizations doing work around a wide range of issues from school improvement to immigrant worker safety to access to public hospitals to economic redevelopment for small businesses. These students provided a combined total of over a thousand hours of volunteer services during their time in the Gulf Coast, and were very well respected by the organizations where they were placed.
At the end of the two-week period, the students were impassioned about their work. The organizations they were placed at were uniformly impressed and grateful for the students’ energy, enthusiasm and skills. Many participants volunteered with additional projects and made a lot of additional work happen that otherwise would have fallen on the shoulders of overburdened organizers and community members.

We talked with organizations about ways UCLA Law students could continue to support the reconstruction process in the Gulf Coast, and the group left New Orleans with a bevy of exciting ideas, including encouraging 1L law students to work in New Orleans for their entire summers, having advanced students collaborate with local groups on research, and potentially building a clinical class focused on New Orleans. One of the more unexpected suggestions given to us by a highly respected local civil rights lawyer was to think about bringing students from our entertainment law program down to assist the community of musicians in New Orleans, who formed the heart of the city and a key economic attractor and who also frequently remained impoverished and unable to benefit from their hard work.

We are excited to continue our relationship with the New Orleans work, and already have plans for this upcoming year!

Seeds of Human Resilence

Today I complete my first volunteer week with Mary Queen of Vietnam, Community Development Corporation (MQVN CDC). I smile while reflecting back on my oh-so-many adventures, mini epiphanies and blossoming relationships that have brightened my stay here in New Orleans.

On one of my first days of work, Tuan Nguyen, the Director of Development for MQVN CDC gave me an extensive tour of East New Orleans, particularly the Versailles Community. He highlighted the devastated areas and the following redevelopment efforts stemmed by community organizing. After Hurricane Katrina, many communities were devastated and the human will to fight became scarce. The Versailles community, which is home to predominantly Vietnamese families, is not unique in this regards. Nearly thirteen miles from downtown New Orleans, the Versailles community stands in the wreckage of thousands of grungy abandoned houses that were once home to the vibrant and booming New Orleans East. Many businesses shut down with no plans to return, and thousands of residents evacuated leaving behind generations of memories. Strangely, in the midst of this desolate backdrop, the Versailles community has sort of emerged like a baby butterfly finding her way back home. After several years of hard work and community commitment, over 1,000 people have returned to Versailles.

I saw the strength of the city as I passed by hundreds of restored homes, and businesses, including restaurants, grocery stores and medical clinics. I hear the tales of children back in public schools, private schools and even newly constructed Charter schools which were recreated to fulfill the developmental needs of the struggling youth. However, out of all the vast development projects I witnessed, the most touching scene for me was a beautifully landscaped patch of land, which was dressed by bursting colorful flowers and lush vibrant greenery. What makes this small plot of land even more striking was the fact that it was surrounded by other empty and desolate nuetral grounds of weed and dirt. This particular vivacious nuetral ground was a community project organized and funded purely by community member, some of which lost everything, but hope. This plot of land represents the hope that the entire community holds onto, in light of the hardships that they were handed. The dirt and weeds represent struggle, in which only community commitment and self-sacrifice can slowly overcome.

Although Versailles is hardly an ideal development, the vast amounts of improvements that have been accomplished in such a short amount of time, despite lacking resources, have become the inspirational force behind the redevelopment of many other devastated communities in New Orleans. The community was certain that if they rapidly rebuilt and occupied their homes, the city government would have to provide services. Perhaps the most important key to their success is that the community refused to place its recovery into the hands of the government. My exploration of this small, yet inspiring community has helped me realize that underneath the ashes of despair, there will always lay the seeds of human resilience: courage, self-sacrifice and love.

New Orleans Through the Restaurant Business

Yesterday, I accompanied Robin Barnes, Seedco Director, to visit various restaurant owners in New Orleans to explore issues surrounding rebuilding the service industry – including issues regarding H2B visa workers and the spirit of the New Orleans people.

Palace Café – Dickie Brennan

Our first stop was with Dickie Brennan and his management staff. Mr. Brennan owns several large and established restaurants in New Orleans, and he has recently begun hiring staff on H2B visas. After the storm, 53 out of his 55 management staff chose to come back and rebuild the restaurants. However, he found the process to be very difficult because he did not have enough employees to staff all his restaurants (especially in the front of the house). He realized that the restaurant business is seasonal, with the high season being between September to June and the low season during the summer. Mr. Brennan realized that the length of the visa perfectly fits his restaurant business and decided to participate in the program. They hired 15 people the first year, 22 two the second year, and 50 this year. They project to hire about 60 workers this year. They have hosted workers from Croatia, South America, and the Philippines.

Mr. Brennan and his company are known for treating those on H2B visas especially well. They welcome them to the city by helping them find housing, giving care/ welcome packages, and providing meals. They are pleased with the “ripple effect” of the program because the American staff members are learning so much from the foreign workers. According to a staff survey, they found out that 99.9% of the workers want to return and continue to work for Mr. Brennan’s restaurants.

However, the visa program is not without flaws. Currently, there are concerns that the government will be cutting back on H2B visas. There is also concern about balancing issuing H2B visas and hiring domestic workers. New Orleans government leaders want to ensure that locals have jobs, but at the same time if there are not enough individuals to meet the demand, they also want to invite foreign workers to fill in the vacant jobs.

Loretta’s Pralines

Loretta has been making pralines for 28 years, and she got her recipe from her mother. She initially took sold the candy at LSU and then later at the Jazz Festival. She was located at her “warehouse store” for 15 years, and she has not been able to sell their pralines in the French Quarter since the storm. She initially had 15 employees before the storm, but now she only has 3 employees. Many employees decided not to come back.

After the storm, people were looking for places to eat since no restaurants were open. People were asking her about opening for breakfast and lunch, and she begun providing those meals. She learned to adjust and change according to the needs of the time. Later, the demand of the restaurant decreased and she decided to only host lunch on Fridays.

Dukey Chase

Our last stop was at Dukey Chase – a famed New Orleans African American eatery. It’s a place where you would take your date. I got to try my first gumbo made by Mrs. Chase. The restaurant was beautiful and decorated with African American artwork. It’s definitely one of those community places where you could feel the New Orleans spirit.